Big blaze likely lit by fireworks

Saturday

Jul 6, 2013 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Illegal fireworks are believed to be the cause of Thursday night's three-alarm fire at a 91-year-old Stockton box-making plant that was still smoldering 12 hours later at Miner Avenue and North A Street.

Joe Goldeen

STOCKTON - Illegal fireworks are believed to be the cause of Thursday night's three-alarm fire at a 91-year-old Stockton box-making plant that was still smoldering 12 hours later at Miner Avenue and North A Street.

No buildings were destroyed, but product loss was estimated in the millions of dollars for manufacturer M. Calosso and Son, Stockton Fire Battalion Chief Matt Duaime said. Hundreds of shrink-wrapped pallets of molded cardboard trays used for packing apples, peaches and potatoes were stored outside and either burned or were damaged by smoke or water.

"It was going like a bomb when we got here," Duaime said Friday morning near a smoking pile of cardboard trays after being on scene all night. Firefighters continued to pour water on hot spots, and Duaime said an engine was expected to remain through this morning.

"This was not the result of poor housekeeping or inventory. It was the result more likely of fireworks," Duaime said, pointing to spent bottle rockets and the remains of other illegal fireworks littering North A Street.

"For us, it's a save. We didn't lose the building. But for the owner, it's a total loss. It's very likely he would have lost the whole building," Duaime said.

A woman who lives directly across North A Street from the box plant said she called 911 sometime after 9 p.m. to report the blaze.

Michelle Barragan, 33, the mother of five, said flames were reaching higher than the tops of the industrial buildings. As firefighters arrived, more than a dozen children and young people were still lighting off illegal flying fireworks from North A Street, she said.

"They were lighting fireworks on this side and that side, then we saw fire coming from the building. I still can't believe they had the nerve to light them off while the Fire Department was still here. I was really scared. I was afraid for my kids. It was really, really scary," said Barragan, whose home is an older wood-frame structure.

"This is just awful. This is a quiet street, normally. I feel so bad for the owners," she said. In addition to concern for her own house and children, Barragan wanted to know what happened to two older black dogs she had seen regularly guarding the property.

A man identified as a manager for Calosso said the company would have no comment on the fire.

Duaime said due to the nature of the fire, it's highly unlikely they will determine a point of origin or be able to pinpoint a cause. He said much of the product that was destroyed was bound for the highly perishable peach harvest in the Fresno area.

In 2007, The Record reported that M. Calosso and Son manufactured boxes for asparagus, cherry, bell pepper, peach, apple, tomato, squash, eggplant, potato, walnut and other growers and packers from Sacramento to Fresno. It also makes custom boxes and displays for wineries and other industries.

The company was founded in 1924 by Lorenzo Calosso and is now operated by his grandson Mike. The company is believed to have between 30 and 35 employees who had taken the holiday off.

Barragan said the first fire engines arrived less than two minutes after her call. At one point, 12 fire crews were at the scene and the Fire Department called in seven county fire crews to help cover the remainder of the city, including two other smaller structure fires, Duaime said.